GRENADA Prime Mi nis ter Dr. Keith Mitchell is calling for the removal of aliens’ landholding requirements for CARICOM nationals.
Mitchell made the appeal during his address at last Wednesday’s opening of the 34th Caricom Heads of Government Meeting, at the Diplomatic Centre in St. Ann’s. He said it would be a significant first step towards the free movement of people and capital in the region.
Mitchell said the most urgent issue which should be addressed at the meeting, which ends on Sunday, is transportation within the region, and without a proper transportation system, the dream of economic union will continue to be elusive.
It is easier and cheaper for a Caribbean citizen to travel to Miami and New York, Toronto and London, than to get from Port-of Spain to Castries, he said.
He said manufacturing products in T&T are not able to reach another CARICOM state in a timely manner, and remain at competitive rates.
Mitchell stated that the meeting should set up “a broader task force on transportation, to deliver results in six months.”
Mitchell said Caricom heads should be on that task force, which would include businessmen, trade union representatives and other stakeholders.
He added that the issue of taxation on travel and tickets, should also be addressed. In many instances, he said, the taxes were higher than the basic price of the ticket itself.
Mitchell also suggested that greater emphasis be placed on developing the region’s information and communication technology (ICT).
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, chairman of CARICOM, said it is time for the regional body to consider expanding its membership to include the Dominican Republic in the CARICOM family, along with the Dutch and French Carib bean islands.
She also called for the setting up of a regional think-tank on security, with a special mandate to examine the multiple security threats facing the region.
“Such an approach would also identify ways of improving co-operation between governments and law-enforcement agencies in countering illicit activity in our hemisphere,” she said. “We must also attack crime at the root, which means we must develop approaches to combat poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and the rising cost of living.”
Persad-Bissessar also spoke of the need to examine regional transportation and to develop a policy to facilitate the free movement of people, and thus enhance regional integration and convergence.
Barbados’ Prime Minis ter Freundel Stuart said he hoped the 34th meeting of heads would not be just another talk shop with no action. He quoted lyrics of T&T calypsonian Hollis ‘Chalkdust” Liver pool’s composition ‘Sea water and Sand’ to issue his caution to the heads. The conference ended last Saturday.
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